Method of smelting copper ores.



G. H. BENJAMIN.

METHOD OI SMELTING COPPER DRES.

APPLICATION FILED 13150.13, 1906.

900,346,` Patented ocn.6,19os

WITNES ES:

`INVENTOR pressure, the

GEORGE HILLARD BENAMIN,

PiTENT OFFICE. 1

oF New YORK, N, Y.

METHOD oF sMEL-TING COPPER dans.

y concern:

I, GEORGE HiLLAnD BEN- United States, residing in the city, county, and State of New have invented a Method of Smelting '1M invention consists 'smeltying copper ores.

The do away with the use of solid fuel in a smelt'- ing furnace; second: to carry on simultaneo usly within a furnace structure the op A ation of separating the inajor'lportion of the sulfur f ation of the oxid of copper to metallic copper.

the prodliction of a high grade met-al at low Broadly stated, I attain the objects sought for b first subjecting the previously heated fliiiced copper ore to the action of an oxi` and subsequently dizing gas under pressure,

. the oxid4 of copper resulting from such treat- ,so well,

action .of a red me'nt to the as being of-a ucing gas under character which will generate high temperature. Further, by reason of the construction of the furnace, th operations are carried on at the same time. .The accompanying drawings will serve to ow one form of apparatus which may be employed in carrying myinvention -into `Figure 1 is an elevation and partial section taken throu h the -gas producei scrubber, urnace'; Fig. 2 is a planview of and a-horizontal secen on the line X-X of Fi 11"; -Fig. 3 is -a vertical section on the of Fi 1; a'nd Fig. .4'is avertical t e drawings; 6 indicates a gas .producer o- .any suitable construction, preferably one that'will deliver a gas hig 1n caron and hydrogen. The producer s iown in the drawings is of the "Otto known that further unnecessa 7 is a scrubber to which the gas is deliv- Vfro the producer through pipes 8,19. he scru ber may be omitted; -its pur ose is to purify the gas. The aas is delvere from description is Specification o! Letters Patent. Application filed Dec'ember 18,

objects of my invent-ion are: first.' to.

typehwhich is Patented oct. e, 190s. 190s. serial No. 347,690.

the scrubber by the pipe 10 tothe induction orifice 11 of the as pump 12, and from the 4eduetion orifice t rough pipe. 13 to pipe 111 leading to the furnace 15.-

' air pump 'jwliich ldelivers 16 indicates an. air into. pipe 17 leading to ipe 14. In pipes 13 and 17' are valvesv 1 8 anci)1'9.

I prefer todeliver the gas and air. under pressures respectively of 1 te square inch, g I the best temperatureresults can b e ob- In order .to regulate the pressures of gas and air, the gas purnlp 12 and airpump 16 are provided with regu ating valves 420 and adingV from 'pipe 1.7 Afrom ,theF air pump is a pipe22, inlthi'spipe, is a valve 23. I ii 51. A v4 I .I l f The furnace maybe of Aany lsuitable construction, that s' i t may .ai nace or a water jacketed furnace, -'generally'used drawings; therefore grammatic of the fu econstruction.

e furnace 'consistsinLtli'man-of two chambers 25,-1whch I te' fthe-,o'xidizing chamber", and 26, whichQI term'thc ing chamber. Surrounding the. oxidiz'in chamber, isa feed pipe lpipe 22 leadinr from th eadng 'from t symmetrically arranged so as to feed bottom portionvof the chamber.

be so placed 1n smelting operations. The

be hereafter is connected to the is connectedto the 17 leading pum chamber 25 is a ue 32, atmosphere or to an suitabe condens 'ap aratus for the `suiiurous' acid gas whic is 4elivered through thi'sflue -*From 33 is a door through which ore tro'duced into the chamber 25 or chamber 26. 4 are dues leading he reduction chamber `26 td In each of these flues isa valve 35. Arranged under the furnace suchas are is the usual my becon'sidered dia- 27, onnectedto the 16. Connected tothe upper art of the oxi izing' l ead either to the,

may. be inlos the atmosphere or otherwise.

' therefore delivered into the reducing chair when there is -an sulfur. to have been'fully removed, that there with the copper to maintain uch blast of air,l which may be hot orcold,

promotes the consumption of the sulfur yritic smelting), and also serves to oxidize tiie iron present, converting it into ferrous or ferrie oxid and thereby bringing it into a condition to combine with the flux present. The flux-may be any well known flux, preferably an acid iiu'x such as silica-to form a slag. As thesulfur is consumed within' the chainber 25, the .introduced air necessaril' oxidizes a certain partof the copper. T ere is ber, sla and an oxid ofcopper, and if all of the sul ur has not been removed from the= copper a smally percentage of sesqui-sulfid of copper.v This ody, however, only results imperfect burning ofthe sulfur.4 Ordinarily, as above stated, thc copper comes down in the form of an'oxid.

It will now be evident tothosefamiliar with the smelting1 of copper, Vassuminggthe s no material left in the copper or associated the tem erature of the copper when in the reducing c amber., and that some extraneous source of heat must be provided. "When the copper reached the reducing chamber, a mixture of gas and air under pressure is 'delivered through the twyers 31 and ignited. Thisgas I prefer to mix in the proportions above specified, i. e.,-gas at a-pressure of 115 pounds, and air at a'pressure of 1 pound. If the gas derived from the producer is a semiwater as, i. e.,-a gas having approximately the ormula of D owsons gas, usually containing H,CO,CHCO and N, the combined gas and air delivered through the twyers 3 1 will upon burning', form more carbon dioxid (00,) and a compound of hydrogen and sulfur, there still being some excess of carbon monoxid '(CO) hydrogen and (CIL) due to inc oin lete combustion with the air supplied thiou the twyers.; 'A1l three of these gases are re uc' gases an'd will attaclf ,thel oxygen carried bynie copper and reduce the copper to a metallic state, so that it may bc removed' from'l the furnace in afpractically refined .condition. i

4that these reducing pherein' the il reducuig' -the gas fromlth Of course the characteroi" the copper obtained will depend upon many factors', which will be evident to copper metallurgisis, such, i

for instance, as the 1 'f chamber 25, the

dizing atmosphere in th:l

reducing atmosphere in the chamber 26,. the

treatment of ore,. the oxidizing chamber, &c., &c.

I wish it understood that the air introcharacter lof the fluxes employed, previous duced into the oxidizing chamber in ay be' sizes of ore charged into either hot or cold'; the mixture of air intro'- duced into the reducing chamber maybe hot or cold; and the pressures at which these gases are delivered may be varied.

It will be observed fromthe constructionfi the furnace described, that the central fine 32 'carries Vsulfurous acid gas, while the side flues 34,.which form an'easier .pathfor the gases tending to escapev from'v the furnace 'portion-.26, than up through the of ore mace in the lower restricted lportion of' the portion 25,. carry car slight excess of the reducing gases enumer acid 'gas 'derived from the'- burning gaseous fuel in the reducing chamber 26 dofnotpass throu h the burning fuel in theoxidizing 4cham er, and, conse uently, that the materialin the oxidizing c amber is slib'ected to an oxidizing atmosphere onlyand t e material. in the reducing chamber .to fa4v reducing temperature only; In the treatment oi ceronic 'acid gas and a ated, due t'oincompleteY combustion, 'fand gases'aiid thef; carbonio sollto first treat them 'inthefoxi v and then'submitfthemzto'an-oidizmg atmosf canl be. accom e gas pump 12 and air ninasthe reducing chaptbefrbn tire" 5 air umpl., .1. Vghile I have 'described my .invention as intended to do'away entirelywith the use of solidfuell,l as for instance, o o

ke,` I will' pointl out that 1t is possible, and may in the treat'- bers.

Generally, as the furnace, I would have it understood that ticular features of "construction," l provided such construction permits vof the creat'.10ii`- of `an oxidizing ,atmos here inane; ortion of ment of some ores be'advisable to use a pe'rcentage of coke mingled with theore inl` either theoxidizingfor the red'uc'm'gj cham- 1; o*

I. i regards the construction of i -I do not in any wise' limit myself to' any parthe furnace and 'a re ucing atmos ere .-in. airother portion of the furnace, .t e'se atmosplieres caused- `to act successively'fj' fa;

erent in subjectiri g body rif-ignited ulfid ore to the action 'of a ihm' and; :inox-:diningatmosphere,- and the oxidized body derived therefrom to the action of a reducing atmosphere of high temature. 2. The method described, which consists in subjecting simultaneously within a furnace structure a body of ignited suliid ore to the action of an oxidizing atmosphere,` and a body oi oxidized ore to the action of a reducatmosphere of high temperature.

3. The method described, which consists in subjecting within a furnace structure a body of ignited suliid ore to the action of an air 'blast and theoxidized body derivedztherefrom to the action of a high temperature ignited reducing gas delivered under pressure. Y Y 4. The method described, which consists in first igniting a sulfid ore to burn out its sulfur contents and simultaneously subjectl f it to an oxidizing atmosphere to oxidize its iron and copper contents, and subsequently subjecting theA oxidized copper to the action of a reducing atmosphere o igh temrature to reduce it to a metallic state.

gg. 5; The method described, which consists in simultaneously burning'the sulfur from a suld ore containing copper and iron and I oxidizing the iron and cop er contents there of, and subsequently simu taneously heating the derived copper oxid in a reducing atmosphere and reducing it to a metallic condition.

6. The method described of smelting a suld ore containing copper and iron, which consists in. simultaneously burning the sulfur of the copper, oxidizing the iron and copper contents, and fiuxing the oxidized iron to form slag, and subsequently simultaneously l heating the oxidized copper in a reducing atmosphere and reducing 1t to a metallic condition.

7. The herein described method of smelt ing copper ores in a single furnace structure,

which consists in first oxidizing the copper of the ore, and then reducing the oxid to the form of a metal independently from said first oxidization.

8. The herein described method, which consists in irst subjectin thc heated and fluxed ore to the action of eat generated by the chemical change of one of its elements and the action of an oxidizing atmosphere, and the cop er body derived therefrom to the action o externallyvderived heat and a reducing atmosphere.

9. The method described of smelting a sulid lore containing copper and iron, which consists in simultaneous y decomposing the ore to form sulfurous acid gas, copperoxid, and iron oxid, and iluxing the iron oxid to form a slag, and finally reducing the copper oxid to form metallic cop er.

10. The method descri ed, which consists in" subecting within a furnace structure an v i nite body of suld ore to the action of a ux and an oxidizing atmos here only, and

subsequently the copper oxi derived therefrom to the action of a high temperature reducing gas only.

In testimony whereof, I aiix my signature, in the presence of two Witnesses.

GEORGE Hitman BENJAMIN.

Witnesses FREDERICK A. BLoUNT,

FRANK OCoNNoR, 

